Mines and spar torpedoes preceded the self-propelled Whitehead pattern, which combined a warhead, propellant, and engine in one underwater weapon. Keeping it at the intended depth required careful control of buoyancy and trim as fuel burned and the relative weight of the warhead changed. The design appealed to planners who hoped engineering and calculation could let a small craft make a flooding hole in a battleship. A mathematical model still had to survive reproducible testing, political persuasion, enemy maneuver, and countermeasures. The 'giant killer' idea therefore drove torpedo development alongside rapid-firing guns, maneuver, and other defenses.
Chapter · 13:26-23:15
Why the Whitehead torpedo promised a giant killer
The self-propelled Whitehead torpedo gave small craft a theoretical way to sink capital ships, but its trim, range, and aiming limits shaped the weapon from the start.